Jerusalem at Center of Diplomatic Face-Off at U.N. Security Council

A United Nations Security Council meeting on Jerusalem this month. The council’s longtime view has been that no country should establish an embassy in Jerusalem.Credit
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

The isolation of the United States over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was on full display Monday at the United Nations, where the Security Council prepared to condemn President Trump’s Dec. 6 declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.

A one-page resolution drafted by Egypt reiterated the longstanding position of the Security Council rejecting Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem, the holy city revered by Christians, Jews and Muslims.

The draft resolution also reiterated the council’s view that no country should establish an embassy in Jerusalem, and that Jerusalem’s status is an issue to be resolved by Israel and the Palestinians, who want eastern Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Jerusalem, the draft resolution states, “is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations.”

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The United States, one of the Security Council’s five permanent members, was widely expected to use its veto power to defeat the resolution. The four other permanent members and 10 nonpermanent members were expected to vote in favor.